Daybreak
by KennyEchelon
Summary: Sasuke hates mornings, and for good reasons. Character study. Pro-SasuSaku. ONE SHOT.


_**Author's Note:**__ Inspired by a Kabuto quote, of all things: "Well, I guess Sasuke's awake. He's always so grumpy when he first gets up." (Shippuden 51, eng dub) ~ __**KennyEchelon**_

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><p>Mornings weren't exactly Sasuke's <em>thing.<em>

During childhood he was the complete opposite, always waking up early to pester his big brother about training. He'd excitedly babble on about kunai techniques while Itachi grumbled playfully, mumbling something about it being his day off and needing at least another hour before he could get out of bed.

It'd be half an hour later and Itachi would be preparing their breakfast while allowing their parents to sleep in.

Fast forward to a year later and Sasuke woke up in that hospital bed, listening to the nurses gossiping about the same brother who made him eggs every weekend. He snuck out of the building, memories from the night before flickering through his head. He started to resent waking up, each morning reminding him, especially in his new apartment.

It seemed so empty. Sasuke was a tidy child and his room was minimalist; it felt strange for such a small body to occupy so much space. He was lonely. For the first few weeks, he half-expected Mikoto to call him awake. When the only sound he awoke to was the beeping of his clock, his heart sank. For a while, he had nightmares, plagued by crows and piercing eyes in the darkness. When the incessant alarm ripped him from sleep, he'd be sweating and shaking, a deep nausea pooling in the bottom of his stomach.

It was a long time before that stopped.

After he graduated the Academy, he began to look forward to mornings again, more excited about training than he'd like to admit. But shortly after that, the Chunin exams happened and the Curse Mark forced him to revert to old habits.

Once he'd left the village, Orochimaru and Kabuto quickly learned not to wake Sasuke up. He was angry and irritable, but at least the nausea had stopped. The distance from Konoha seemed to offer some relief but he still couldn't shake his dislike for mornings. Thankfully, the underground tunnels were well-suited to pretending it was night.

When Sai had crept into his room that day, he was not impressed at being awoken by the sound of Imitation snakes hissing in his ears. For a split second, Sasuke was confused as to why Orochimaru would come into his room unannounced before perceiving a threat. He was slower and weaker in the first moments of awakening and weakness was not allowed.

The nightmares returned after he took on Itachi, although the eyes were no longer his brother's, but his own. There was blood... lots of blood... and fire. Sasuke awoke and stared up at the stalactites on the ceiling, the candlelight creating dancing shadows that mimicked the Amaterasu.

"I gave you some first aid."

He sat bolt upright at the voice, panic flaring through him. The masked man stepped out of the shadows, talking about the Uchiha clan and Sasuke felt his abdomen squeeze painfully. He didn't sleep at all the next night.

For months after he was haunted by the bad dreams; the blood on his hands. When he did sleep, it was fitfully so often he decided not to bother. After a while, his grip on reality became looser, driven by the need for revenge. Even Team Taka began to notice that something had changed in Sasuke.

Multiple battles later, confronting the ghosts of his past, he returned to Konoha. He almost felt guilty coming back, but those feelings were quelled instantly when he thought of the pain he'd endured because of the village.

He had a job to do, nothing more.

A decade later and he lay in bed, sunlight streaming through the window. He ran one hand through his hair, after rubbing his eye lazily. His heart beat at a steady pace as he calmly listened to the birds outside.

"Otou-san!" A small, dark haired boy ran into the room and bounced onto Sasuke.

"Otou-san, can we train today?" he said excitedly.

"Sa-su-ke-kun" mumbled a sleepy voice next to him "It's your turn to take care of your son. I'm at the hospital later."

Sasuke smiled as Sakura rolled over for an extra few minutes of well-deserved sleep.

"Okay then. It may just be time to introduce you to kunai techniques..."


End file.
